Head Under Water
by McGonagall's Bola
Summary: Set after 7.10 The Deluca Motel. Alexx came back through that open door Horatio left open, while Calleigh's determination to deal with Eric's biological father gets her in danger. Calleigh/Natalia -REWRITTEN!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

_"Officer Duquesne, is there still a problem?"_

_"No... Uhm... There's not. How are you doing?"_

_"Without Joel, I can't afford to stay."_

_"Well, that's why I'm here. This is for you."_

_"What is all this?"_

_"It is the money that Joel found in the vent. It is 26,000 dollars. According to Florida statute 705, if... money is found and reported, the rightful owner has an opportunity to claim it and if they don't, then it belongs to the person who reported it."_

_"But... I never reported it."_

_"Well, as it turns out, Joel did. He must have been a really good man."_

_"All this money... I'm sure somebody'll be coming after it."_

_"Not this time. Take it, start over."_

_"Thank you so much."_

_"You don't have to thank me."_

* * *

The blonde silently closed her emerald green eyes and sighed, deeply. Without thinking, her left hand wandered down to her abdomen, which she gently rubbed. Her eyes reopened in thought. It had felt pretty odd to feel another woman's baby kick against her own womb. Sure, she sometimes let the thought of pregnancy and babies cross her mind. Though, to her, it felt like she couldn't have that with her job at the same time, and she didn't want to choose. She loved her job as CSI Ballistics, dearly. It wasn't only a job to her, but it was part of her life as well. Her passion. Her social life, too. It hadn't been until that afternoon Calleigh Duquesne had almost literally felt it burning down there, the sudden urge to be pregnant and feel her own child, kicking inside her womb, trying to play a little soccer. To share it with the love of her life, like Mrs. Bowen. She, however, would have to deal with it all herself now her husband Joel had been murdered and buried. Calleigh's hand slid down on the bed again and she sighed for the second time in barely a minute time. The love of her life, huh?

Her gaze fell aside, as a soft breeze swept into the bedroom, lifting a couple of loose blond strands from her neck to place them back over her shoulder with care. She couldn't bring it up to smile, though she had to admit Eric could be particularly cute whilst asleep, and she had been moved by that in the beginning – which was a couple of months before at that point… when the two of them still divided their time between talking and the physical. This stage of their relationship didn't seem to have place for both anymore. Their day started with getting up and taking turns in the bathroom, eating breakfast separately while the other was in the bathroom, then driving to work together without words, since the radio usually played, and by arrival at CSI being separated for mostly all day. The two of them used to shower and have breakfast together, and have lunch in town. Some part of Calleigh missed that, and another felt relieved that they weren't always together anymore. She'd sometimes experienced it as suffocating.

They rarely drove home together anymore, whereas they used to wait for each other in the beginning. Now, there was always something the one or the other wanted to finish up before going home, it seemed. This meant they rarely had their dinner together as well. Well, dinner... Lately all they seemed to eat after work was drive-through food. Who wouldn't prefer it over cooking just for yourself? Sometimes, but very rarely lately, they went to town to eat dinner together there. When the couple was home, only the necessary words still seemed to be involved – just enough not to make it feel awkward. They mostly talked about work.

When day stood aside for night, they took turns in the bathroom again before going to bed, with Eric seeing only to his needs in minutes, before falling asleep before her and waking up in the morning together to have the same pattern start again. At least they woke up together.

Calleigh got up and left the bedroom to get something to drink. Her throat felt particularly dry. She thought she understood, with Ivan, Eric's real father, causing trouble and tension. Soon, she was standing in front of the sink, a glass of water in her hand. She brought it up to her lips and gently took a little sip, closing her eyes as she felt the colorless liquid slide down her throat, into her empty stomach. Empty. She swallowed and laid her free hand across her flat tummy. It would most likely never be any different. She put down the used glass and headed back to the bedroom where she found Eric unsurprisingly still asleep. He hadn't even noticed the empty spot beside him.

Instead of settling back next to him, Calleigh carefully took her pillow and dragged herself to the couch, in which she threw her heavy pillow and crashed down on. She eyed the television remote right in front of her on the low glass table, picked it up to turn on the television and zap through some channels to settle on an old rerun of The West Wing in the end. She smiled as she pulled up the blanket and made herself comfortable under it. She would fall asleep with the remote in hand, to be woken by her boyfriend in the morning. Half an hour later, they drove to work together in silence, as usual, listening to the weather forecast. It would be another sunny day in Miami, it seemed.

Since Eric had been called in on a new crime scene on their way, he had dropped his girlfriend off at work and gone to join Natalia, who was already present at the crime scene. Calleigh was on her way to the break room to get herself a cup of strong coffee – maybe that would help her feel more awake – when she bumped in a tall red haired figure on his way out, dark sunglasses in hand. "Calleigh?" he spoke, steadying her on her feet as she stood lightly swaying from the collision and noticed her absent behavior almost immediately. "Calleigh, what's wrong?" he asked, all signs of hurry suddenly gone from both his behavior and words.

She looked up at him tiredly. "I'm fine," she lied.

"What's wrong?" Horatio repeated in a more serious, though not really less kind tone, ignoring her words as if she hadn't spoken. He could see past her words of reassurance after all these years with her in his team.

"I'm fine," she told him in a hoarse tone, walking past him towards her lab. Horatio, however, gently caught her wrist and turned her back to him. She blinked a couple of times rapidly. Horatio understood she was struggling not to cry in front of him.

Without thinking, her hands came to his sides, and she rested her forehead against his shoulder, sighing. Horatio stood there for a moment before pulling his arms around her. This wasn't entirely something Lieutenant Caine usually condoned for his employees to say it right, nor anything Detective Duquesne would have allowed herself if she had been so fine. Horatio easily ignored the gazes directed towards him and Calleigh wrapped up in the long corridor.

The two of them stood there like that for a little while, just holding onto each other, when Calleigh backed off and tried to give him her best smile before turning around to head along to her lab, her sanctuary. Halfway, she spun around on her heels to eye Horatio still standing there, concern etched into his light blue eyes. "Thank you," Calleigh whispered, softly, barely loud enough for him to hear.

He nodded once, then turned around as well when she'd turned the corner and he couldn't see her anymore. He'd go and check up on Bullet Girl when he arrived back at the lab. Horatio thought she might need some private time. He'd give her the chance, but she didn't have to talk about anything if she didn't want to.

It wasn't until a good two hours later that the redhead got back, having left Natalia and Eric at the scene to collect pieces of evidence, and found his ballistics expert again.

Horatio already found her in the gun range – his first guess to where she could possibly be – which actually alarmed him immediately. There wasn't any unfinished ballistics evidence he knew of. It sure wasn't unusual she shot a couple of bullets there every now and then, but she usually did that after work, not during. And especially not during break, which, he concluded, must have started since a couple of minutes, by a glance on the dial of his watch.

He'd come to conclude that Calleigh sometimes used her job as a way to express her emotions when they became too much to cope with. When she wasn't having her day, she retreated into her sanctuary, shooting bullets straight into the middle of the pallet with the gun suiting her emotions best at that point. When Horatio entered the range, he found her with a Ruger, twelve millimeter, in hand. From where he stood, he could see tears rimming the edges of her eyes through her clear safety glasses. He felt like he'd intruded on something and wanted nothing but to leave, while another part of him didn't feel like doing so. He kept standing there, but didn't make his presence known. She could already feel it. She could feel it when someone was watching her. At that point, when she lowered the gun and turned around to see his tall red haired figure standing there, he wished he'd left. He felt like he'd butted in on her private space, and he didn't want that. "Go home," Horatio suggested, upon seeing her expression of what he thought was pure hurt.

Home. Did Horatio mean the apartment which used to be hers, but had been intruded by Eric since a couple of months? Oh where had she gotten herself into? She must have been lying to herself all this time. Yeah she loved Eric, but not in the way that he did… not in the way that he showed that he loved her. Had she been so… sorry for him that she had managed to lie to herself about the nature of her feelings towards him? Had she been so desperate for a man to love her? Last night had made her see it, or not, rather. When she thought of children, about the future in general, she couldn't see herself with him. She couldn't see any part of her future with him included in more than a figurant's role.

Calleigh gently laid the heavy Ruger down onto her table and tried to compose herself in front of Horatio for the second time that day already, as his velvet-like voice rang through the empty range, apart from the two of them, of course. "Calleigh."

"Horatio," she whispered, her emerald green eyes fixed onto him while taking off her red goggles and safety glasses. She swallowed, realizing the tone in her voice had betrayed precisely how she felt. Restless. Confused. She couldn't quite put her finger on the right fitting emotion, but she knew it was no pleasant one… a very unpleasant one in fact.

"I'm sure we could handle it if you went home early today." Calleigh suddenly felt the urge to fling herself into his arms much like that morning, and try explaining him why she felt like that; why she couldn't seem to focus at work. "I could send Eric home, too, when he comes in," Horatio suggested, feeling this wasn't the right time to ask what bothered her. "Though I'm sure that could be at least another hour."

A shade of panic briefly showed in Calleigh's eyes, and she kindly declined the redhead's offer. She tried keeping her tone light. "I guess maybe you're right. I didn't sleep much tonight." It wasn't a lie. "I guess I'm just suffering a little under the weather. I could nap a little on the couch, and maybe I feel better tomorrow. Please don't bother sending Eric home, too… I'm a big girl," she added, before putting down the ear goggles and safety glasses and making her way out, Horatio guessed to the locker room to retrieve her things before going home like he had suggested.

He didn't doubt she could take care of herself, but had noticed the awkwardness in her eyes when he'd suggested sending Eric home with her. He turned around, stopping her right before she had turned the corner. "Calleigh, everything all right between you two?" He asked, concernedly.

"Sure," she answered, before continuing her way out. Horatio thought that she couldn't be away any sooner. He stood staring after her for a little while, thinking about what had happened earlier and just a short moment back. When he couldn't come up with another reason behind her behavior than trouble with Eric, he left Calleigh's sanctuary and went to his office to try and get some paperwork done. Maybe he could ask her boyfriend later.

When Calleigh got home half an hour later, she decided to take a long shower. Right when she got out the shower booth, her cell phone started buzzing. She sighed seeing the caller ID, and already knew precisely what he'd have to say. "Hi, Eric," she greeted, trying to sound cheerful.

*Hi. H. said you didn't feel well and you had gone home, so are you all right there?* Calleigh felt relieved. She had noticed Horatio not buying her explanation for acting absent and vulnerable, but thank goodness he hadn't told Eric about what he really thought was going on.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I think that I'm just suffering a little under the weather," she easily repeated her lie, and Eric, unlike Horatio, seemed to believe it.

*OK. I just wanted to be sure. See you later tonight.*

Calleigh frowned. "All right." She felt something was going on there, and was determined to find out what as well. It wasn't quite like Eric to call just for a few words. In addition, she found it odd he hadn't said anything about the new case. She was going to find out what was going on, but it would have to wait until tomorrow morning, when she would most likely hear it all from Natalia or Valera. Or maybe from Eric himself.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Calleigh awoke by the sound of her door bell. She would be finding out more sooner than she would have thought, it seemed. She blinked open her green eyes and found the room only still faintly illuminated by the last rays of sunshine creeping in through the curtains. The spot beside her was still cold and empty like when she'd fallen asleep. Calleigh just hoped that Eric wouldn't be home as late as the night before. She hadn't precisely known when, but she hadn't heard him coming home. What she had known, though, was that he still hadn't been home when she'd gone to the bathroom around two. She hadn't asked where he'd been either. Maybe he'd gone and had a drink with Ryan.

She dragged herself upright and through the living room to the front door. When she opened it to a rather serious looking Natalia and Horatio, she suddenly felt completely awake. "Hi Calleigh," Natalia greeted, "We tried calling you a few times, but your cell phone seemed to be off..."

"It must have run out of battery," Calleigh explained. "I'm sorry. I should have charged it immediately when I got home... Come in," she reminded herself, and stood aside for her two colleagues. She closed the door behind them and tried to hide her worry before turning around and joining them on her couch. "All right... What's wrong?"

Horatio sighed, and decided to be honest and break the ice immediately. "You're in danger."

Natalia continued explaining. "The young woman that's been found this morning had multiple stab wounds to the heart. The murderer left the knife into her body. We checked it for finger prints and found Eric's on the hilt. He said he recognized the knife as his, so Horatio, Ryan and he went to Eric's to investigate and concluded a knife was missing out of the set on his kitchen counter. No signs of forced entry were found."

The redhead took over from her again. "Alexx concluded she must have had sexual intercourse right before she died. To make matters worse, the semen found with her appears to be Eric's. He admitted to have hooked up with her after work last night, in the club close to where she was found. Stetler has put Eric in a holding cell to make sure he doesn't vanish before IAB questioning tomorrow morning."

Calleigh swallowed hard. "What's going to happen?"

"During autopsy, Alexx found something odd into the woman's throat," Horatio continued, ignoring and trying to reply her question at the same time by explaining everything and the plan he'd set up. "It appeared to be a little test tube, like the ones we use. It contained a note from Ivan, Eric's biological father, saying that he'd take everything he loves, unless Eric joins his father on the good side. The side we fight against as police officers and CSIs. Unfortunately, it doesn't completely prove Eric's innocence."

"It sounds an awful lot like Riaz," Calleigh stated.

Horatio merely nodded. He didn't know how she had known. Perhaps Eric had told her, because he for sure hadn't. He sighed. "Since Eric told us he'd only met the victim for the first time yesterday night, we fear Ivan – or one of his men is maybe more likely, since I highly doubt he's doing this alone – must have seen him with you, too. I'm putting you off duty until he's in custody."

"I can take care of myself."

"Calleigh, no. I'm not going to let you put yourself even more in danger. I do have a fairly good idea of what Ivan's capable of. He's the kind of man like Riaz, but worse. He doesn't let anyone try and stop him. I don't think it's safe for you here any longer. Since transferring you to my place would be easy to anticipate, Ms. Boa Vista offered to take you to hers."

Natalia nodded. "My residence is perhaps in the best protected neighborhood of Miami."

"Right," Horatio said. "I'm almost sure we were being watched when we drove here. We need to mislead them by making them think you're going to my place, while in fact you're going to Ms. Boa Vista's. I suggest you go and grab a few things – only the most necessary." He handed her a dark blue bag that she hadn't noticed before. "There's another like that in my Hummer. It's part of the plan. I'll explain the rest on the way."

* * *

"You can come out, but make sure that you stay lying down," Natalia whispered, constantly looking into her rearview mirror and back. "I think that Chevrolet with its dark tinted windows could well be one of Ivan's men, since it has been following us since we left Horatio's residence." She and Horatio had driven Calleigh to his place, where she'd hidden herself into a box of 'wine' seemingly too small for a human being to hide in. Thank goodness the blonde appeared to be very lean, in addition to petite, which made it work.

"Ugh..." Calleigh let out, "I swear that next time anyone tries force me into a box normally used for wine, I'm going to use my gun." Natalia couldn't help but chuckle even though the circumstances. I didn't make her feel less worried, though. Especially not after what her superior had told her on the way to Calleigh's. "I actually think there's only one reason why Calleigh hasn't been harmed. Yet, at least. I believe that Ivan's planning something. Something that's going to hurt us as well."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Here," Natalia whispered, handing her co-worker a hot bowl with chicken soup, before sitting down next to her on the couch, pulling her feet under her ass and taking a careful sip from her own bowl.

"Thank you," Calleigh whispered, not looking up as her co-worker sat down beside her. She could feel Natalia's eyes upon her, though. Worried. Frightened. The blonde finally turned towards the brunette, holding onto the bowl of soup. "He has just kept on seeing other women even though he was with me. Gosh... I don't even think I wanna hear how many there were..."

"He does love you," Natalia answered.

Tears sprang into the young CSI's eyes, shaking her blond head silently, before her tears found their way out and she spoke, "No, because if he really had, he wouldn't..."

"Shh..." Natalia soothed, gently putting her bowl on the table and taking Calleigh's to place next to it before taking the blonde in her arms. She started sobbing freely, hiding her head into the brunette's shoulder. Natalia couldn't think of anything but to stroke the other woman's back trying to soothe her. "It's OK," she whispered. "It's all right to cry."

"I feel so..." Calleigh sobbed. "Betrayed."

"That's understandable," the brunette replied gently stroking her friend's hair out of her eyes, planting her lips on the latter's forehead rather absent-mindedly. Calleigh pulled away to look at her 'friend'. She had stopped crying abruptly, and just kept on looking at the younger brunette in silence, before leaning in and letting her lips brush against Natalia's, kissing her lower lip repeatedly, then the upper as well.

Natalia found herself a little taken aback by this sudden reaction, but liking it at the same time. The two women seemed to lean in for more at almost exactly the same moment, and that created a passionate duel between tongues. Calleigh was very eager to undress the brunette, and started unbuttoning her shirt, leaving it opened as she already started unzipping Natalia's pair of jeans.

The darker haired woman undid her shirt and started pulling up Calleigh's as hungrily. She went to bite marks along the blonde's throat and before either of them even had a clue, both women were making out onto the oldest's couch in their birthday suits. Both of them seemed to be as eager into this, wanting to explore every surface of the other's skin, setting it on fire by touching and cooling it again with their lips.

Natalia lay on top, her lips easily coming to find the other CSI's taunt nipple, hardened by the thought of what was surely yet to come; by the unknown lust she currently felt herself driven by. The brunette's tongue slid around Calleigh's pink peak repeatedly, then started sucking on it, her hand wandering down along the blonde's side to her wetness, cupping it, and making the famous ballistics expert arch her back and moan out loudly at the sensation of her secret place being touched so gently, yet so hungrily and demanding at the same time.

Trying to roll the two of them over, Calleigh succeeded in getting them entangled on the floor next to the couch. Natalia merely chuckled, finding the other woman's soft lips with hers, leading to a husky moaning out for more from both sides.

Calleigh had managed to get herself on top, though, now laying between the brunette's silky soft legs. She slowly pushed herself upright, hooking her leg behind Natalia's, keeping the other between her lover's'. She repeatedly stroked her knee against Natalia's wetness, driving up the rhythm each stroke, making the latter plead for more touch.

The blonde eagerly started moving back and forth upon the other CSI, womanhood causing friction with fellow womanhood. Natalia couldn't help but move along naturally, the friction causing them both to climb higher to orgasm. Sweat gradually started pearling on their skin, covering them like a blanket after a few minutes of intense rubbing.

Natalia's hand reached out to stimulate the blonde's clitoral hood, making her arch her back violently. The brunette rolled them over once again, finding herself on top, capturing Calleigh's lips with hers for an instant, before settling so that both she and Calleigh had access to the other woman's secret spot with their lips. Natalia reached down, while Calleigh reached up, both of them enjoying to taste the other's juices and pleasure them with their tongue, entwined in the famous soixante-neuf position. And it felt so good.

It had all gone so fast suddenly, that neither of them had had the chance to stand still by what they were actually doing. They had just been driven by their hormones and lust; by the feel of the right touches on the right spots. It wasn't really so that Calleigh or Natalia regretted how the two of them were now both edging between pleasure and orgasm. Natalia was on top pumping her lover with three skilled fingers in swift, fast thrusts, as the blonde was doing the same with two, going deep and hard. Loud moans were heard from each with every stroke.

The brunette soon reached the blissful wave first, Calleigh following right after, squirting out her pleasure while shaking hard. She slowly closed her eyes trying to regain breath after this excellent sex tumble on Natalia's carpet. She couldn't stop smiling. After the waves of climax had left both women's bodies, they were panting against each other's skin, lingering close to one another. Sleep must have washed over the exhausted CSIs shortly after their intense love-making.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Natalia Boa Vista's gaze trailed off to the hands of her silver designer watch, indicating a couple of minutes past ten. She had been working for a few hours, and wondered whether her blond colleague currently in hiding at her residence would still be sleeping. She'd slept through Natalia's alarm clock earlier. Calleigh hadn't woken up nor even stirred when the alarm had gone off, nor when the brunette had dragged herself out of bed to have breakfast, get herself under the shower and dressed before leaving to CSI. She couldn't precisely figure out how the two of them had ended up in bed, since she could remember something vaguely about waking up entangled with a naked Calleigh next to the couch.

Natalia had left the blonde a note on the night table, saying that she would like to repeat last night sometime and that she would be thinking about her at work. She'd promised to ring her, so when she waited for the computer to pop up with some results on the DNA sample she was currently running through the database, she undid her left glove and took out her cell from her lab coat pocket and dialed her own home number.

She waited patiently for any reply on the other, but there didn't come one. She thus ended the phone call by simply clapping her LadyPhone closed when her answering machine took over and slid her cell back in her lab coat pocket, re-gloved her left hand and waited for the computer to come up with a match. Calleigh was perhaps still asleep, or maybe in the bathroom taking a shower. She'd try later. Natalia sighed, looking at the screen. If there could be one thing she hated about being a CSI, it was waiting for a machine to provide with answers. It was especially frustrating when you realized that machine only worked with lines of zeros and ones.

* * *

Calleigh gasped as the heavy built man forced her head back under water. She struggled effortlessly, her watery surroundings unable to provide her lungs with air. She couldn't fight him; he was much stronger than she. It wouldn't stop the blonde from trying, though. She couldn't breathe anymore; she was in need of air...

"That's enough, Aleksei," a steel cold voice cut through the room, and she felt how the man called Aleksei lifted her head out of the bath. She started coughing almost immediately, having got an amount of water in her lungs, before turning to face the man to whom that creepy ice cold voice belonged. She could have known.

"Ivan," she croaked.

"Calleigh Duquesne," he hissed, turning towards Aleksei and talking fast in Russian that she couldn't grasp, resulting in his man nodding curtly and walking out.

* * *

Around noon, Natalia tried calling again. Like before, no answer was heard on the other side of the receiver. She was starting to worry. Even though she knew that her residence was well protected and constantly being watched by a police officer, like Horatio's, she felt something knit together deep in her stomach. It was no pleasant feeling.

From the moment anyone would try breaking into Horatio's residence, where the two of them had fooled Ivan and his men that Calleigh would be, they would know when Ivan's plan had been set into motion, too. No calls had come in from her nor Horatio's house guard. Everything should be fine with Calleigh.

Still, she didn't feel comfortable with the situation and went to find Horatio. She almost literally ran into him on her way to his office. The redhead apparently came from the coroner's office. He easily noticed the concerned look on her face and asked, "Miss Boa Vista, are you all right?"

"Yeah, but I fear that Calleigh might not be." The red haired police officer crinkled his brow questioningly, and she went on, "I tried calling her twice since this morning, but she doesn't answer. I assumed that she could still be asleep, when I tried calling around ten, or having a shower or anything, but I tried calling again a couple of minutes earlier and still, there's no reply."

Horatio nodded slowly. "Alright, here's what we are going to do. I will call Jensen and ask if he could check up on her. I haven't heard from him nor Adelstein, so everything's probably just fine."

The brunette waited impatiently as he pulled out his mobile phone and pushed the right buttons to connect with Jensen. It remained perfectly silent. Horatio ended the connection and swallowed. "Miss Boa Vista, go find Mr. Wolfe. I truly hope I'm mistaken." Natalia nodded urgently, and ran in the direction of the break room.

* * *

"Why?" Calleigh asked. "Why not let him drown me?"

"No!" Ivan hissed. "I still have plans with you... What Aleksei did was just a warning of what's coming to you if you don't cooperate; the other girl more of a warning of what I'm capable of... You're going to be my bait."

"Eric's not gonna be your prey," the blond CSI whispered angrily. "He's–" "Of course!" Ivan spat. "That was my plan! It's not my purpose to end him... Yet, at least. Firstly, I'm going to take everything he loves. I'm pretty sure that delicious brunette and that ginger will be coming after me. Maybe the gamble addict is coming, too? There isn't much else left of your team, is there?" Calleigh spat at him, resulting in him twisting her cuffed wrists. She winced. "That wasn't nice of you..."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"You know, it does something to a human being to kill such a nice piece of meat..." Ivan whispered, stroking Calleigh's wet blond hair. "I'll admit that I won't like having you follow that brunette... You can still switch, though... Join the strong side..."

"I'd rather die than do that," Calleigh shot back, eyes lightening furiously.

* * *

Horatio was standing bent over Jensen's body, twiddling with his dark shades. He could see how the young man's throat had been slit with something thin and hard, perhaps a metal cord or something else of that kind. He must have suffered very little. "Horatio looked up at a scared Natalia and Ryan. The three of them had been in the house to find nothing touched or missing, except for Calleigh. No signs of break had been found, indicating that the guys they were looking for were smart.

He wondered whether they had been so smart to go check at Natalia's house first, instead of at his then at hers. He pulled out his phone and dialed Adelstein's number. Horatio let out a silent sigh of relief, as the young female police officer picked up after the second ring. She ensured him that no one had visited the lieutenant's residence after he had left it for the crime lab that morning.

Since Ivan and his gang had already gotten what they wanted, Horatio told her her guarding services weren't any longer needed and ended the phone call. He turned to his two employees and ordered them to take their kits, which he had asked them to bring along just in case, and process Natalia's house. As he reminded himself of the fact that they had gotten past the guard – whom Horatio had known to be a perfectly capable police officer – and through all the alarm systems installed in Natalia's residence, plus past Calleigh's self-defense as well, as he highly doubted she would have given in without a fight, he feared that the chance of finding any evidence at all would be particularly small.

Last time Calleigh had been abducted, she had been lured into a trap. He highly doubted she wouldn't have been watching over her shoulder this time. She had known the chance existed Ivan or his guys would try to do something to her. Plus, she would be more careful in being lured at, too.

He waited outside for Alexx to arrive and knew that the only way to find out where Calleigh was, would be to try and find any evidence that could lead to a hint or fact. He hoped that Ryan or Natalia would find something. Anything.

* * *

"Oh, a stubborn piece of meat, too... You know, I like that trait in a woman... Some pit..."

"I'm no piece of meat," Calleigh spat.

In response, Ivan pulled at her hair and pushed her face back into the icy cold water. He only released the blond strands when she stopped struggling. She slid down to the floor like a marionette of which the strings had been cut. She was still breathing, though Ivan knew she'd be out for a while. And maybe she'd be smart enough to address him properly next occasion.

* * *

Hours later, and inside Natalia's residence no single piece of evidence was found. Hairs had been tagged and finger prints taken, but had all come out as Natalia's and in some cases Calleigh's. Outside, however, the metal string that had perhaps been used to slide Jensen's throat had been found in the bushes just a couple of feet further from his body. Nothing had been found on it, except for the young police officer's blood. It was frustrating.

Ryan and Natalia were currently waiting for the computer to have figured out the components of the murder weapon. Maybe they could continue from there. Their red headed friend joined them in DNA. "Stetler's giving us forty-eight hours to catch Ivan and prove Eric's innocence," he stated. "And until these forty-eight hours are over, Eric will be kept in a holding cell."

Natalia and Ryan answered at the same time. "He cannot do that!"

"You know he will," Horatio answered. "Do we have something?"

Neither of them had looked up when the results printed. Ryan easily took the piece of paper and sighed. Nothing particular. He handed the piece of paper to Natalia, over whose shoulder the redhead read along. He did seem to notice something particular, though. Ryan could see it in his expressions. "Mr. Wolfe–" Horatio started, right when Paula ran into DNA. "Lieutenant Caine, phone call!"

Horatio gave both Ryan and Natalia a brief look and hurried after the receptionist, the two following in his wake.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Natalia smiled down upon her girlfriend and leaned down to plant a peck on her exposed shoulder.

The blonde was sitting between her girlfriend's legs on the floor, leaning against her as they watched TV. For the first time, Calleigh felt as loved as she felt in love. Being with a woman surely was different from being with a man. She sighed deeply thinking about Eric, and smiled again as she felt Natalia's arms tighten momentarily. That was one of the best things about Natalia. She never pushed; let you come to her if you wanted to, but gave you all her support and comfort either way. She knew almost immediately when something was wrong, too.

When she'd been taken by Ivan, she'd thought she'd never see the brunette again. While being kept imprisoned, she'd realized just how much she'd liked the tenderness between women instead of the usual harder intercourse with a man. She'd liked it, and she would have liked to have more of it. A man was surely more physical than a woman – less tender, too. Or she could have always been with the wrong ones. She didn't know, and neither did she long to find out. She was happy now.

Polygamy was perfectly acceptable. It didn't necessarily have to be bad. It wasn't really more than a life style, rather a different way of living. Calleigh could maybe accept it, but not the fact that he hadn't trusted her enough to talk about it. Not necessarily everything needed be discussed in a relationship, but this? Couldn't sleeping with more than one woman at the same time be important enough to share? Did the lack of talking simply mean that he hadn't had enough with her and didn't want to hurt her? Calleigh had missed the honesty; felt as if the past months hadn't been anything but a lie.

The brunette slowly leaned back against the couch, continually stroking Calleigh's arm up and down. She couldn't say just how relieved she was that she could still do that. It had been about a month since Ivan had been caught. In the meantime Calleigh had gradually moved her things to Natalia's and even though it was maybe a little fast, they both felt comfortable with it. They had known each other for years before the sparks had started flying around. They were sure from each other, and Natalia was happy about that.

She still remembered the day Caleigh had been found. It had all gone so fast so suddenly... They had given up on hoping since no useful evidence could be found, when Horatio had gotten a phone call from Ivan himself. He'd requested to exchange his biological son with Calleigh that night, otherwise Calleigh's fingers would end up in the mail one a day, and then her toes... Maybe in the end even her tongue... He'd been so smart to make sure he couldn't be tracked and mislead the track device system they had. He however hadn't been so smart to shut out the background noises. The sound of metal being smashed had eventually done it and led them to the car scrap yard, to the old hangars from the times before it had been a car scrap yard to be more precisely.

It had all made sense all of a sudden. On the way from the scrap yard to Natalia's neighborhood was a little DIY-store where they sold things like metal strings. The owner recognized one of Ivan's man as to be the one who had bought the metal string with which Jensen had been murdered.

Ivan's plan had fucked up. His intention had been to lure Horatio with Natalia and Ryan into coming to the docks alone, without back-up, saying that they would get Calleigh back if they had Eric in her place. The real plan had, however, been to use Calleigh just as bait and finish them all. It would be the ginger who surprised Ivan and his gang by showing up a little sooner than anticipated and on the wrong place, though. The right one for them, of course.

Ivan and his gang, taken by surprise and helpless against three well trained CSIs and two SWAT teams had been forced to give in the end. They hadn't done so without a fight, though. Ryan had gotten a bullet wound in the lower arm, which had healed well after Alexx' care. Horatio's upper leg had gotten a nasty graze, but he too had been fine and back the old one after a couple of days. Natalia had remained unharmed and had been the one to find Calleigh and cut the blonde's wrist bondages to take her to the hospital for check-up, even though the ballistics expert promised so much she was fine. Natalia had wanted to make sure. The hospital staff had kept her overnight before releasing her.

Natalia still felt sorry for her girl as she thought back at that particular day. She remembered taking Calleigh to her place, because she'd requested so, and staying with her. The petite blonde had been starving. Ivan hadn't done any effort to give or let give his hostage anything to eat or drink and Calleigh didn't precisely like the hospital food. She'd almost begged Natalia to stop at the McDonald's on South Biscayne Boulevard on their way home – Natalia's residence – and had ordered without shame Large French Fries with a Big 'N Tasty and a Side Salad, a McFlurry with M&M'S and a Large Iced Tea. Natalia still couldn't grasp how all of it had been wiped away in barely a couple of minutes. She'd ordered the amount a horse would be satisfied with. Natalia herself had had enough with a Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken and a Small Diet Coke.

Eric had been released by IAB-Sergeant Rick Stetler himself and been told he could start working again immediately, and Calleigh had gotten back to work after two days off and being cared for by Natalia. Both she and the brunette still worked with Eric daily in the lab, but Horatio mostly tried to send him off with Ryan. Natalia nor Calleigh could feel any more toward him than collegiality anymore. Maybe their friendship would be established sometime, but it needed time first. After all, Eric's cheating had somehow been the cause of it all in the first place.

Neither of the women tried to think about that now, though. They were happy, and they planned to stay that.


End file.
